Don’t deck the halls with boughs of COVID

Large indoor family gatherings are typical for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s been months of many Americans being warned not to gather in large groups, specifically indoors. Americans will continue to ignore guidelines and cause future surges in coronavirus cases.

Americans chose to ignore the warnings during Memorial Day weekend while the number of cases were surging. For example a large pool party at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri engaging in no social distancing nor wearing masks that led to several guests testing positive for the coronavirus.

More recently, The New York Times reported about a wedding being shut down that could have potentially had 10,000 guests. A birthday party and wedding hybrid that didn’t get shutdown led to over 50 positive cases and about 300 people in quarantine. Even the president and his staff ignore the guidelines and continue to do so.

Americans are divided and have different opinions when it comes to adhering to the rules. A hairdresser from Long Island revealed in an interview she attended an outdoor event with close friends where no one wore masks.

“I’m more concerned about being on top of people at work than I am outside with people I’m always around,” the hairdresser said.

The hairdresser expressed she would attend an indoor event depending on who it was for. She said she doesn’t feel having large family dinners for the holidays will cause a spike in cases because businesses that have been open indoors haven’t caused any.

“As long as people don’t get into your face and they wash their hands and continue to do so I think it will be fine,” the hairdresser said.

There still shouldn’t be large outdoor or indoor gatherings. Someone might feel comfortable being around their friends but people don’t know who their friends have been around that might have had the virus.

The LA times interviewed University of Maryland environmental health professor David K. Milton who said even with outdoor dining there is a risk of infection from inhaling virus aerosols. Americans should be listening to the experts and not their own assumptions.

In LA County, there has been an uptick in coronavirus cases that have been linked to workplaces and social gatherings. The CDC lists other considerations to take if you are planning a holiday celebration with friends and family.

LACERA staff accountant Elizabeth Yeo said she usually attends a gathering of about 10 or more people at her friends’ home for Christmas.

“My friends’ mom is around 80 years old so I’m pretty sure we are not doing that this year,” Yeo said.

Yeo added that if people are coming from out of town, it’s maybe not a good idea to have a large holiday get-together. She prefers that people have smaller gatherings and take more precautions in order to mitigate the possibility of more state shutdowns.

If people want to have family and friends for indoor Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, then they should be very cautious. People should stick to 10 or less people no matter if your state guidelines allow more. Wear masks when not eating or drinking, have hand sanitizer available throughout your home and encourage guests to stay home if they have a cough or fever.